Fabrizio's and Ilaria Zizza got what every U2 fan wants if they visit Ireland: to meet the band of course!
We had our personal experience last week [NB i freceived their story on the 11 of September, 1998], right at the end of our 4th trip to Ireland.
We arrived to Dublin on Saturday 5.9.1998, after a one week vacation in the Emerald Island. We strolled along the city centre for a while, then decided to go to Hanover Studios, just to have a look before dinner time (it was 6 p.m.). We did not know where the studios were, so it took us half an hour to find them... and bang! We saw three strange cars out there, and one of them had a green cap laying on the passenger's seat, some records, a Bowie tape...
We knew we finally got into King B. It was just a matter of time! After some 20 minutes, we saw someone coming along the road, and while getting closer he looked more and more familiar... Yes, he's Larry! We were so happy. He walked towards us, shook hands, then said "Hello", and he wanted to know how we were, where we had been in Ireland, and then whether we wanted to "Say hello to the people". Of course we wanted! However, they were just too busy for the moment; they were working hard inside the studios. He tried to find some better occasion for us, asking when we were leaving Ireland; unfortunately we were leaving on Monday morning, and they did not work on Sunday. So we had to wait; he was very kind, he said they would not get out of the studios before 9 p.m., so we could maybe get a walk. We didn't, of course, and after saying goodbye to Larry who entered the studios we sat on the sidewalk for a while.
Around 8, Adam came out. He was also kind, he also shook hands, but was suddenly "assaulted" by four fans from Poland, who wanted autographs, pictures, etc. He patiently gave them what they wanted, but then he had to go. The fans left as well, and we were alone again. The chance of a lifetime. It took 2 more hours to get Bono out of there, but finally he DID come out! Well, first of all Larry did, and he sat in his car with his engine on, clearly waiting for someone to come.
When the King appeared, we were suddenly calm, and he said hello, shook hands, but then said he was in a hurry and moved towards his car. We couldn't believe this! Neither could he. You know him. He never got to the car, came back to us instead, and we started talking. He asked whether we were having a good time in Dublin, so we described our trip through Ireland and our short staying in his hometown. He told us they had a hard but good day, and he was going to listen to his work in his car. He wanted to know whether we were lovers. He understood we were married and said "Husband and wife... That's brilliant!". He was happy for that. We do not know why, but he was, and that was magic for us. He hugged and kissed my wife Ilaria and hugged me. He wants to know about you and he cares; that's what made us happy more than anything else. He looked at us in the eyes, with a frank and friendly smile, and he really seemed to be interested in ourselves as people, not just as fans. He asked us whether we had a camera, but we didn't, since we left it in the car. Anyway, there was no flash on it, and we were not looking for a picture. The meeting was more than we could ever expect! He was sorry for that, but we weren't.
Then he really had to go. I stopped him for a moment, doing what we wanted to do since more than 10 years. We thanked him and the band for what they did over the years, which had an enormous meaning to us. He seemed impressed, maybe he liked the fact that two fans were sharing this so much, and thanked us for saying that. He could not find the words at first. Then he wanted to know where we were from, and said he would live in Italy if he could. Ilaria told him she wanted to live in Ireland, but he complained about the weather. He then finally went, sounding the horn of his car and waving goodbye.
THAT experience in Dublin is something we will NEVER forget.